The present invention relates to a toner seal member, a developing cartridge, a process cartridge, and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus to which said process cartridge is detachably mountable. The electrophotographic image forming apparatus forms an image on a recording material through an electrophotographic image-formation-type process. Examples of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus include an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (a laser beam printer or LED printer), a facsimile machine, a word processor and the like. The process cartridge integrally contains an electrophotographic photosensitive drum, and charging means, developing means or cartridge, in the form of a unit or a cartridge, which is detachably mountable to a main assembly of an image forming apparatus. The process cartridge may contain the electrophotographic photosensitive drum, and at least one of charging means, developing means and cleaning means, in the form of a cartridge which is detachably mountable to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus. Furthermore, the process cartridge may contain at least the electrophotographic photosensitive drum and the developing means. The present invention is applicable to a process cartridge having such developing means.
Heretofore, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus using the electrophotographic image process, a process-cartridge-type apparatus, in which the electrophotographic photosensitive member and process means actable on the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally contained in a cartridge, is detachably mountable to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus.
Such a process cartridge contains a photosensitive drum, and developing means is used to apply developer (toner) to a latent image formed on the photosensitive drum. In the developing means, a developing device frame supporting a developing roller for feeding the toner to the photosensitive drum and a toner frame (toner container) accommodating the toner, are coupled with each other. Before the start of use of the process cartridge, an opening provided in a connecting portion between the toner frame and the developing device frame is sealed by a seal member. A process cartridge equipped with an automatic toner seal removing device for automatically unsealing the opening of the toner frame when the process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus, and an image forming apparatus which is capable of driving the automatic toner seal winding device, are known. In addition, a developing cartridge is also known, which is integrally provided with developing means and a toner container accommodating the toner to be supplied to the developing means, in which an opening through which the toner is supplied to the developing means from the toner container is sealed. Further, a developing cartridge is provided with an automatic toner-seal removing device.
The present invention provides a further development of such devices.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a toner seal member, a developing cartridge, a process cartridge and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which a toner seal can be automatically wound up. It is another object of the present invention to provide a toner seal member, a developing cartridge, a process cartridge and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which the toner seal member can be smoothly wound up.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a toner seal member for producing an automatic toner-seal removing device in which the winding-up of the toner seal member is assuredly detected, and the driving of a winding shaft is finally stopped and by which an outermost part of the wound-up toner seal member flaps and/or the excessive load in a driving source can be avoided, but also to provide a development cartridge and a process cartridge on which the toner seal member is removably affixed, and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus to which said process cartridge is detachably mountable.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner seal member to be used for sealing a developer container including a developer accommodating portion for accommodating a developer; and an opening for supplying the developer from the developer accommodating portion, the toner seal member being for sealing the opening, wherein the toner seal member unseals the opening by being automatically wound up, the toner seal member including a sealing portion for covering and sealing the opening. There is also provided a regulating portion for regulating an operation of a detecting member for detecting winding-up of the toner seal member to unseal the opening.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a development cartridge and a process cartridge using a toner seal member, and an image forming apparatus with which the toner seal member, the development cartridge, and the process cartridge are usable.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon a consideration of the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.